13 June 2017

Open letter to Mr Allyn Condon

Dear Allyn,

Open letter to Mr Allyn Condon

Thank you for notifying me that you intend to publish a leaflet
outlining your continuing concerns about Ben's very sad death at
the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children in April 2015, echoing your
recent campaigns on social media. I am responding on behalf of the
Trust.

It is a matter of great regret to us that there remain
irreconcilable differences between your view of the cause of Ben's
death and that of the senior clinicians within the Trust, as well
as the Coroner's findings at Ben's inquest in June 2016.

We have acknowledged that, after his death, we missed a number
of significant opportunities to engage proactively with you, to be
more open and candid, to understand the seriousness of your
allegations and to give you clear answers to a number of your
questions. Despite our best intentions, we failed to get an
appropriate grip of your complaint and we lost your trust as a
result. I apologised to you and your wife unreservedly for these
failings a year ago and I have no hesitation in repeating that
apology again now.

In early 2016, we commissioned an external review into the
Trust's actions, in which you were involved. We worked closely with
you last year to re-examine your questions and we attempted to
answer them as fully and as openly as we could.

We were very disappointed then when you told us that you no
longer wanted to work with us and publicly refused our offer of a
meeting. We note that you continue to reject the option of asking
the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman to undertake a
formal, independent review of your complaint and our response,
choosing instead to make public allegations which we cannot comment
on because you have also brought a compensation claim against the
Trust.

We have a responsibility to you and your family which we remain
entirely committed to fulfil. We also have a responsibility to all
the other parents whose children will need the attention of the
expert clinical professionals at Bristol Children's Hospital this
year, just as we have a responsibility to those highly dedicated
staff. We ask you again to consider the option of an independent
review of your complaint.